The Paradox of Defeating M
is the sixteenth episode of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. It features the debut of Snipe Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 (Full Dragon). Synopsis Emu thinks Taiga and Hiiro attacked him since he is the source of stress for Nico, who is suffering the Game Disease. He does not realize the true intention of the other two riders is to eliminate the Bugster virus residing in Emu himself, who is unknowingly infected with the disease as well. Brave attacks Ex-Aid again but Revol Bugster and some grunts appear to…defend Emu! He is further convinced he is the source of Nico’s stress. Genm Level X appears and attacks both riders. He succeeds in stealing all of Hiiro’s Gashats and seems intent to do the same with Emu’s. Plot Poppy is freaking out about the situation, replacing the first letter of every other word she says with "p"; Emu says they should stay focused on the patient, but they find that Nico has redecorated CR's patient ward with all of her stuff. She continues to get upset at Emu as he tries helping, resulting in Asuna dragging him out of the room. Director Kagami and Hiiro discuss Emu's Bugster infection. Emu calls in and Hiiro says to meet him on the roof; left alone, Director Kagami is snatched up by Taiga. At their hideout, Kuroto chides Parado for not taking Emu's Gashats, but Parado responds that he's only helping Kuroto so he can play Kamen Rider Chronicle; Kuroto agrees to let Parado defeat Ex-Aid his own way. On the hospital's roof, Emu asks Hiiro why he attacked him, assuming it to have been related to Nico and his connection to her stress. Hiiro rejects the notion, though still refuses to tell Emu the truth, and transforms into Brave Quest Gamer Level 1, saying he will draw out "the" Bugster; however, Level 5 Revol and his soldier Viruses arrive and form a defensive wall around Emu, attacking Brave. Brave Stage Selects to a town square with a fountain, he and Emu taking Brave Quest Gamer and Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2; Ex-Aid's attacks still don't affect Revol, and Revol says that Ex-Aid winning will make him a complete being. Having a realization about Nico's stress, Ex-Aid tries to leave the fight to Brave, but is intercepted by Genm Zombie Gamer Level X here to take his Gashats. Meanwhile, Taiga uses Director Kagami to access CR and retrieve Nico. Brave defeats the soldier Viruses with the Gashacon Sword's Ice Mode, Genm brushing Revol aside and attacking Ex-Aid, using Critical Dead before the Riders can use DoReMiFa Beat and Mighty Brothers XX to Level Up. They are knocked out of their transformations, Revol leaves, and Genm takes Hiiro's Taddle Quest and DoReMiFa Beat Gashats; he grabs Emu, but a surge of his Bugster infection lets him knock Genm away. Parado shows up to tell Genm to get back in line by not attacking Ex-Aid before they both disappear. At Taiga's clinic, he tells Nico that she's only there as bait for Ex-Aid, but she complains that despite this obsession he still won't defeat him for her. Emu and Asuna arrive, and Emu says he finally remembers her: back in his gaming days 6 years ago, she was a competitor during a tournament who called herself "Genius Gamer N"; she was very skilled, but he still beat her. Taiga reveals Nico is now a pro gamer making millions, and she says Emu is the only person she's ever lost to so she wants to defeat him for a perfect record. Asuna comments on it being a shallow reason. Nico grabs Taiga's Gamer Driver saying she wants to be a Kamen Rider to defeat M, but Taiga wrestles it back, saying what they do isn't a game and risks their lives. Nico runs off with Asuna following, and Taiga leads Emu off to fight. Emu explains how his winning stressing out Nico led to Revol making him an ally, preventing his attacks from working on the Bugster, also noting that Taiga seems to be trying to keep Nico safe from what's happening. Taiga insists treating Nico didn't affect his decision to fight Emu, transforming to Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 1 as Revol and his soldier Viruses appear. Kuroto and Parado arrive to take Snipe's Gashats and fight Emu, respectively, they and Emu transforming into Genm Level X, Para-DX Puzzle Gamer Level 50, and Ex-Aid Double Action Gamer Level X. Snipe takes Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 Full Dragon and Ex-Aid takes Double Action Gamer Level XX. Orange goes after Para-DX and Blue after Genm, but Para-DX stops both of them, letting Genm attack Snipe. Asuna drags Nico to the battle to show her what Kamen Riders actually do, and she sees Snipe get beat down by Genm. Nico grabs a mop and attacks Genm, but he tosses her aside, Snipe catching and telling her to stay out of the fight. He hits Genm with a Drago Knight Critical Strike, but he recovers without a scratch. Revol laments another simple brawl without strategy happening around him. Para-DX uses Perfect Puzzle to collect Muscular, Invisible, and Speeding-Up Energy Items, attacking and knocking Ex-Aid out of his transformation; however, he is shot by Revol attempting to protect Ex-Aid to increase Nico's stress. Mocking Revol as a simple-minded game character, Para-DX switches to Fighter Gamer Level 50, destroying Revol over Genm's objections with a Knock Out Critical Smash; Genm quickly gather’s Revol's debris with the Gashacon Bugvisor before they leave. Emu gets another sharp headache, admitting to Asuna he's been getting them after transforming lately. Nico tries to make Taiga say something tough to Emu, then follows Taiga off against his objections; Asuna sighs how Nico was the first patient Emu couldn't make smile. Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : *Narration: * : Guest Cast * : *Nico Saiba (Child): *Emcee: Suit Actors *Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level X: *Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level 2, Level XX R: *Kamen Rider Brave Level 1, Kamen Rider Snipe Level 1: *Kamen Rider Brave Level 2, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level XX L: *Kamen Rider Snipe Level 2, Level 5: *Kamen Rider Genm Level X: *Kamen Rider Para-DX: *Revol Bugster: Rider Gashat *'Gashat Used:' **Ex-Aid ***Mighty Action X, Mighty Brothers XX (once attempted) **Brave ***Taddle Quest, DoReMiFa Beat (attempted) **Snipe ***Bang Bang Shooting, Drago Knight Hunter Z **Genm ***Buggle Driver ****Dangerous Zombie **Para-DX ***Gashat Gear Dual ****Perfect Puzzle, Knock Out Fighter *'Level Used:' **Ex-Aid ***Action Gamer Level 1, Action Gamer Level 2, Double Action Gamer Level X, Double Action Gamer Level XX **Brave ***Quest Gamer Level 1, Quest Gamer Level 2 **Snipe ***Shooting Gamer Level 1, Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 (Full Dragon) **Genm ***Zombie Gamer Level X **Para-DX ***Puzzle Gamer Level 50, Fighter Gamer Level 50 Energy Items *'Energy Items Used:' **Para-DX ***Muscular, Invisible, Speeding-Up **Unused ***Iron-Body, Instigate, High-Jump, Shrink, Stretch, Confusion, Recover, Giant, Emission, Liquefaction, Separation, Dark Errors *When Emu triggers Mighty Action X on the rooftop to join Brave and Revol's fight, the game's title screen doesn't appear behind him. *The game title screen also doesn't appear when Emu transforms with Mighty Brothers XX to face Genm and Para-DX. **Neither did they appear for Genm and Para-DX's Dangerous Zombie and Perfect Puzzle. *The error of using Tekken 7: Fated Retribution for 2010 arcade tournament on Emu and Nico's flashback, and the likely reason to promote the game's console release in June 2, 2017 were still intact from the previous episode. The current tip-off to this is the character of Lucky Chloe being seen during the game footage, who debuted in Tekken 7 and was not in Tekken 6. *The announcements for the Perfect Puzzle Gashat and the Dangerous Zombie and Buggle Driver are both mistimed with when Dan and Parado transform EA EP16 Error 1.png|Where's the Mighty Action title screen? EA EP16 Error 2.png|Where's the Mighty Brothers XX title screen? Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Ep 16 Dangerous Zombie Error.jpg|Where's the Dangerous Zombie title screen? Notes *As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside episode 47, . *'Viewership': 4.4% *'Closing Screen': **Text Color: Pink *'Count at episode end' **'Gashats in Ex-Aid's possession': Mighty Action X, Gekitotsu Robots, Shakariki Sports, Bakusou Bike, Mighty Brothers XX **'Gashats in Brave's possession': None **'Gashats in Snipe's possession': Bang Bang Shooting, Jet Combat, Drago Knight Hunter Z **'Gashats in Genm's possession': Proto Mighty Action X, Proto Taddle Quest, Proto Bang Bang Shooting, Proto Bakusou Bike, Proto Gekitotsu Robots, Proto DoReMiFa Beat, Proto Giri Giri Chambara, Proto Jet Combat, Proto Shakariki Sports, Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z, Dangerous Zombie, Giri Giri Chambara, Taddle Quest, DoReMiFa Beat **'Gashats in Para-DX's possession': Gashat Gear Dual *'Video Game References in this episode:' **The Revol Bugster shooting Parado is also a reference to friendly fires in first-person shooting games. Any friendly fire on an ally sometimes results in retaliation by the attacked player, especially in multiplayer games. However, strangely enough, Ex-Aid was unable to friendly fire Revol Bugster on last episode and this very same episode. ** At the arcade where Nico is playing Tekken 7, an arcade version of Mighty Action X is seen in the background. This is a reference to how some console games are ports or remakes of their original arcade cabinet versions such as Ninja Gaiden or TMNT: Turtles In Time. **Nico is revealed to be a champion competitive gamer who makes her living off of her winnings, with her grand prize money being ¥‎100,000,000 every tournament. Professional competitive gaming is a real-life spectator sport that hardcore players compete in for large sums of prize money. Competitions such as can net players with anywhere from $100,000 to over $2,000,000 in prize money. **When the Revol Bugster fails to hit Kamen Rider Para-DX, Para-DX says that the "non-playable characters aren't very smart to begin with" before attacking Revol. Depending on the game, some NPCs are programmed to only speak a certain set of dialogue or in some cases of bad games, have terrible A.I. and offer no help to the player. **Fighter Gamer's finisher is a reference to one of Little Mac's side special move, known as the Jolt Haymaker in Super Smash Bros. *This is the second episode of Ex-Aid whose title doesn't end with a punctuation mark like "!" or "?". The first one was Defined Destiny. *This episode, all Riders activating their Gashats trigger Game Areas filled with loose Energy Items (as CGI and physical props) instead of their normal game-specific containers. As this trend continues in later episodes, it likely represents a general shift of props and effects to be used from now on. *Also this episode, Snipe's Drago Knight Critical Strike is seemingly triggered by pressing the button by the Kimewaza Slot only once instead of twice. Even though this also happens for Ex-Aid's Ju Ju Critical Strike in the next episode, it does not occur in the episodes after that until episode 42. *This episode is the first time the Gashat Gear Dual makes the "Game Clear" announcement. DVD/Blu-ray releases *Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 4 features episodes 13-16: Defined Destiny, We're Kamen Riders!, A New Challenger Appears! and The Paradox of Defeating M. *Blu-ray Collection 2 comes with 12 episodes. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Vol 4.jpg|''Kamen Rider Ex-Aid'' Volume 4, DVD 918QGbPrsUL. SL1476 .jpg|''Kamen Rider Ex-Aid'' Collection 2, Blu-ray External links *TV Asahi's official episode guide for 打倒MのParadox *Toei TV's official episode guide for 打倒MのParadox References Category:Kamen Rider Ex-Aid episodes Category:New Form Episode